6 O'Clock on a Christmas Morning
by jcmoorehead
Summary: As November brings the first snow of the winter, Rei reminds the cast of a very important event coming up.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:**

I usually try to avoid putting in author's notes but I thought I'd say a few things for this one. This as with a few of my other one shots are set after The Human Equation ends, so while it isn't required to read it because it might be handy. I wrote this to be lighthearted/WAFFy fun. I have been since I was young a huge fan of this time of the year, my birthday is December 30th, and I got into Evangelion around Christmas so it kinda seems like a nice fit to do a Christmas fic for the show. I also wanted to do something to celebrate Asuka's Birthday (4th December) being that she is my favourite character.

So this is lighthearted and WAFFy, meant to be taken as a bit of fun with minimal drama in there. I just wanted to do something to hopefully make people smile. Especially when compared to my other major work at the moment (The Catalyst) and the other piece I'm working on.

 **Six o clock on a November morning...**

Asuka held her breath as she put one foot into the hallway. She slowly and carefully closed the door behind her being sure to be as silent as possible. It closed with the only sound being the click of the lock setting into place. She had to be quick now, if she delayed any longer her quickly concocted plan would all be for nothing.

She sneaked through the hallway and into the main area of the apartment. The door to their bedroom was still closed, good. She stifled a laugh and quickly skipped across the front room and grasped the handle. Slowly she opened it and peered inside. The bed was exactly as she had left it five minutes ago. She could see Shinji in there, his chest rising up and down as he slept.

Asuka made her way over to the bed a menacing grin appearing on her lips as everything was falling into place. With her hand she gently peeled back the sheet. Shinji had decided to sleep without a shirt on. She took a moment to study his body, after this she might not have the opportunity again.

 _'Maybe I shouldn't do this… I mean it's cruel and he's gonna be angry with me and it'll likely wake Misato up… but it'll also be really funny, I'll make it up to you later Shinji. Promise.'_

She held her hand over his chest and allowed the snow to drop onto him. His eyes suddenly shot open as the sudden cold hit his body.

* * *

Gendo Ikari took a sip of his coffee as he looked out the window of his office. He was certain he could hear a familiar sound from outside, it was almost like a scream but it couldn't have been. He was thirty floors up in the air and there were very few people in the building at this time. Yet there was something about the noise that sounded so familiar, like he had heard it many times in the past.

He shrugged it off and watched the snow fall over the silent streets of New Berlin. It had arrived earlier than expected this year, late November but it had arrived. The return of that which had not been seen in these sorts of areas for over fifteen years. Since the Second Impact the Earth had had to deal with radically changed climates. It looks like Third Impact might have aided with setting things back to normal.

 _'This was one of the things you always wanted to see return wasn't it Yui?'_

He turned and went back to his desk pulling up one of the reports that had been sent overnight from the team in Tokyo-3. It had still not been decided what would happen to the former city. There had been many discussions that Gendo had sat in on over the last few months, there had been much bickering over what to do with the site. It did after all still hold many secrets. The body of Lilith was still there, the petrified forms of the Mass Produced Evangelions were still potentially salvageable and despite the destruction that had occurred on that day, NERV headquarters still had sections that remained intact, including parts of the MAGI system.

If that wasn't enough having to recover from Cohen and his attempt to capitalize on the events of Third Impact had thrown further spanners into the work. Gendo had by some miracle not came out of this year being public enemy number one. He wasn't trusted by many, he wasn't liked by practically all but he was doing what he could to put things right.

He glanced at the calendar on his desk at the appointments today. Further debates on the potential to develop new Evangelion Units as a precautionary method should any further Angel attacks occur. Gendo had already tried to argue that there would be no further Angel attacks and that the Angels were gone forever but that hadn't stopped the arguments.

He also had a meeting with a representative of Japan Heavy Chemicals industries, a name not unfamiliar to him. They wanted to propose development of a new Jet Alone program. Feeling they had now perfected the design of the biped and there would not be a repeat of the previous incident. Gendo had to hide a smirk knowing full well the truth behind that previous incident.

Again there was no need for such a thing to be made it had seemed though that with WILLE having the remaining Evangelion Units in the world locked up within its depths other countries now wanted their own.

 _'As we exit one conflict another begins immediately, one wrong step and we enter a new Cold War. Not to mention there have been rumblings that some of SEELE's committee may have survived… we need to be very careful.'_

He looked at the list of appointments. He would make the debates his main focus in the morning and hand the meeting with Japan Heavy Chemicals to Katsuragi. He looked down at one particular appointment for that evening. That out of all of them was the most important. Far more important than the Evangelions stored below WILLE, more important than SEELE or the Jet Alone.

It had taken some time to arrange this, there had been tentative communications between all parties. Over the last few months there had been little bits and pieces said, apologies made on his behalf. He was still trying to learn, he wasn't giving up or running away and letting them down again. That's why that appointment was the most important one to Gendo Ikari, dinner with Rei, Misato, Asuka and most importantly his son.

* * *

Misato darted towards the source of scream clutching the nearest heavy object she could find in her hand. She didn't know what to expect when she entered the room but the sight of Asuka rolling around on the floor in a fit of laughter and Shinji staring daggers into the girl whilst clutching his stomach as not it.

Misato's eyes looked from Asuka to Shinji who was shirtless and spotted the snow sprinkled around his chest. She looked back at Asuka and quickly deduced what had happened here, leaning her head back into the front room she saw the snow coming down outside. Quickly hiding the smile spreading on her face she went back into the room and readied her best 'Captain Katsuragi' voice.

"It's six in the morning, what the hell is going on here?"

"I… Shinji… his face… you should have… been there Misato! It… amazing!"

Misato was able to make out some words through Asuka's laughter. Not much but she decided it'd be best to leave the girl to it.

"Asuka, go out into the front room. Wait for me there!"

"Yeah… sure!"

Still laughing Asuka got herself up on the floor and staggered into the front room. Misato closed the bedroom door behind her and sat down next to Shinji. She watched him flick some of the snow away and again had to hide the smile creeping across her face. Given the chance when she was younger she would have done the exact same thing to Kaji, in fact she probably wouldn't have been kind enough to put it on his chest.

She relaxed a little bit, "It's snowing outside Shinji…"

For a moment Misato was terrified by the look Shinji gave her. It was exactly like the one his father would give them all back in the command centre. A far cry from the warmth that was usually across his face. After a time he replied.

"Is it?"

"Yeah! Would you like to see?"

Shinji flicked the final piece of snow from off of his chest and pulled the cover back around himself for some semblance of warmth.

"No, I think I've seen enough for today."

"I'll go and talk to her in a bit when she's had a chance to calm down. You scared me, I haven't heard you scream like that since you piloted the Eva."

"I'm going back to sleep."

Misato smiled and gently rubbed his shoulder, "Fair enough, remember we need to start making arrangements for December today."

"Yeah I know…"

"And we have that meal later tonight."

"I know…"

"Well see you in a few hours, I'll guilt her into making breakfast for us today if you want?"

"Whatever…"

Misato closed the door leaving Shinji to go back to sleep and turned around to see Asuka lying on the sofa with an ear to ear grin.

"So what exactly do you think you were doing?"

Asuka shrugged, "He looked too hot! I was just trying to cool him down."

Misato shot her a glance.

"Oh come on you have to admit it was a little bit funny."

Misato gave in, "Okay yeah a little bit but couldn't it have waited until later on in the morning like not half six?"

"Nope, we need to take our chances while we can. Besides I didn't want to risk him waking up before me. I suppose you have a punishment for me."

Misato gave a nod, "Yup, you're cooking breakfast this morning."

"Hah, that isn't a punishment! A true punishment would be me having to eat one of your breakfasts. Instead I'll just get a chance to stun you both with my amazing cooking prowess."

"Well we'll see about that, for now though I think you should probably go and apologize to Shinji!"

"Yeah yeah, that'll be easy."

"I wouldn't bank on it, I don't think I've ever seen him that mad before."

"Yeah but you forget, I'm amazing and he adores me. He'll forgive me in a second."

With those words Asuka got herself up off of the sofa and slipped back into the bedroom. Misato looked at the clock and realized her alarm would likely be going off soon. Going back to bed now would be a waste. She sighed and resigned herself to the early morning news.

* * *

Shinji entered the apartment closing the door behind him. He quickly shook off the snow from his gloves and hung up his coat. He listened carefully for any sound from inside the apartment, he could hear the sound of a guitar ringing out from within. That was good, it meant Asuka wouldn't be able to hear him enter. He removed the small box from his pocket and smiled, he was sure It'd be a perfect Birthday present for Asuka.

 _'Not that she deserves it after this morning.'_

Shinji thought back to Asuka's stunt earlier that morning. He was sure he could still feel the patches of cold on his stomach from where she had dropped the snow onto him. Even worse was the fact that Misato also found it funny. Despite Asuka's apology and her breakfast he still had to deal with a number of remarks from the two of them about how he should 'chill out' or how they hope he doesn't get as 'frosty a reception' tonight when they go for dinner with his father.

He realized he was likely being unfair, if it was another day he probably would see the funny side of it but on this day he couldn't. Truth was he had been dreading today for the past two weeks and he had made the mistake of not telling Asuka or Misato that he was. He had just pretended he was looking forward to it and that he was alright. He didn't want to make them worry but seeing his father was always awkward. They had spent more time together over the last few months. Little meetings here and there, discussions but there was still a long way to go.

 _'He is making an effort though... maybe I'm being unfair.'_

He sighed and quickly slipped into their bedroom whilst Asuka was still in the middle of practicing whichever song it was she had selected. Choosing a suitable hiding place he slipped the box into it and went to check on Asuka.

He carefully slid open the door being careful to not disturb her. From his position he could see her sat on one of the seats her eyes focused on an open book, a pair of headphones covering her ears. He watched as her fingers effortlessly moved up and down the fretboard, each note ringing out beautifully around the room.

She had came on quite a lot in the months since they had started practicing together. Where she was now was a far cry from the early lessons they had done together. She had quickly surpassed Shinji's limited knowledge of the instrument and she was even at a stage where she could improvise along with him on the Cello.

As he watched her suddenly all the apprehension he was feeling, all the negativity slipped away. He was no longer mad at her for this morning and he was no longer nervous about this evening. Something about her presence calmed him

 _'She really is amazing...'_

He watched as she finally brought the song to a close. She placed the instrument down and removed her headphones as he stepped into the room.

"You're really good Asuka..."

"Oh so you're talking to me now are you?"

He picked up his Cello and bow and made his way to the chair near to her.

"Yeah I am..."

"I didn't think you'd be that angry about it, it was just a joke you know."

"I know... I'm sorry, I guess I'm just nervous about tonight. It's going to be the first time I've done anything like that and everyone is going to be there. I just don't really know what to expect."

"Hah, I knew something else was bothering you. Why didn't you tell me?"

Letting out a sigh he replied, "I don't know, I just thought that after a year I should be alright with seeing him again. He's made an effort to meet up with me over that time. I just... still get nervous around him."

"I'd be more nervous about what those two are going to serve for dinner, somehow I don't think you'll have gotten your cooking talent off of your father and as for wondergirl... "

Shinji suddenly burst into a laugh when he thought about the idea of his dad and Rei in a kitchen this afternoon preparing dinner. For some reason he got the image of them both wearing identical aprons, both confused over a cooking book and struggling to figure out what to do.

"I imagine it'll be 'according to the scenario' this, whilst Rei questions the philosophical role of gravy on the human psyche. Of course you know it's going to be vegetarian seeing Rei doesn't eat meat."

"Oh yeah... I forgot about that, I don't mind."

"Maybe they'll surprise us, it can't be worse than Misato's attempts."

Nodding and shuddering at the memories of the last time Misato attempted cooking Shinji looked at his cello and drew his bow across it listening for it being tuned correctly. Asuka was right, it couldn't be worse than Misatos attempts at cooking. Ayanami and his father had to have more ability than her 'put some of this stuff on top of that stuff' method.

"You'll be alright Shinji, you've got me there and how can you fail to be alright when I'm around?"

* * *

Asuka had been completely right Shinji thought to himself, he had been alright and it had been a pleasant evening. The one thing she hadn't been right on was on being concerned about the quality of the food. The meal his father and Rei had prepared had been delicious.

"I admit it has been a long time since I have had reason to cook something like this but when your mother was alive I used to cook for her on a regular basis."

"I had no idea."

Shinji looked across at Rei who was looking at her dessert plate somewhat sheepishly. He spied the bandages on her fingers.

"Rei did you help as well?"

Rei looked up at Misato and gave a faint smile.

"I assisted with some of the preparation but I..."

Rei trailed off as she looked at the bandages. Sensing her discomfort Gendo quickly cut her in, "Rei was a very valuable assistant. It was her first time performing such a task and she did very well. There were some accidents along the way but this is bound to happen."

Shinji nodded, "When I first tried cooking I nearly sliced off my finger..."

He turned his gaze to Misato who instantly averted hers. Although his words were meant to make Rei feel better they were also a slight dig at Katsuragi. If it hadn't been for her yelling her usual morning routine and making him jump he might not have nearly sliced off his finger.

Misato looked around hoping to shift some of the focus away from her.

"Yeah accidents happen! Asuka nearly..."

Asuka quickly snapped back before Misato had a chance to finish the sentence, "Asuka nearly what! Watch your words very carefully Misato... unless you really plan on trading stories tonight!"

"What! It's not like I was going to mention the time you hit your head on the toilet or anything!"

Misato quickly covered her mouth realizing she had in fact mentioned that time. Asuka went pale and Shinji wondered if he'd survive the drop from his father's apartment to the ground floor. Across the table Gendo looked on in amusement whilst Rei took another spoonful of ice cream.

"That was your fault! That wouldn't have happened if your cooking hadn't have made me ill!"

"Yeah well your attempts at cooking were hardly any bet-"

"Hah! At least my attempts are edible, if it wasn't for Shinji you'd either be dead or... fat… or both!"

Shinji sunk down into his seat avoiding the gaze of his father and carefully placed another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. He briefly considered taking it under the table with him and finishing it there. Thankfully his father gave a quick cough and spoke pulling them back to attention.

"So Shinji, how is school going?"

"It's good, really good."

 _'Better than this dinner party is going at the moment.'_

Shinji looked across at Misato and Asuka who were still scowling at one another but both eating their dessert in quiet anger. He wouldn't say it but Asuka looked quite cute when she was angry.

"Have you thought about what you are going to do when you leave?"

Shinji shook his head, "Not yet… I, I guess there isn't really anything I'm really good at so I don't really know what to pick."

Gendo looked him over before smiling and responding, "I'm sure there will be something, there is no point in making a decision straight away."

It was strange for him to hear those sorts of words coming from his father's lips. There had not been many times Shinji had discussed school with him now his plans for the future. In truth Shinji didn't know. Last year he simple didn't care about his future and as the year grew on he couldn't see a future beyond defeating the Angels. Earlier this year he got caught up in the events with Cohen. It didn't really give him a great opportunity to think about the future. Add to which he never really felt he was that good at anything. It was easy for someone like Asuka, who already had a degree and was amazing at anything she did to make those sorts of decisions.

When he thought about it though he didn't know what she wanted to do either. They had never really spoken about their future. He wondered if his father ever had this sort of problem. What did he really know about his father growing up? Only that he went to the same University as his mother, was taught my Fuyutsuki. Did his father always have an idea of what he wanted to do?

He thought about asking him but perhaps that'd be a discussion for another time. He was curious though, the people around this table didn't exactly have traditional lives and upbringings. Shinji didn't know what their plans were or had been. It actually dawned on him for as much as he had learned both before and after Third Impact he didn't really know that much at all.

 _'I guess… we still have a long way to go.'_

He was pulled from his thoughts by Rei, "I understand that there is to be a big event in December."

"Well you see that everyone, Rei here knows the amazing event happening in December! Yes you're right, it's my Birthday!"

Shinji smiled thinking about the necklace he had back at the apartment stored away for Asuka along with the few other presents. He wanted to make sure this year was extra special for her considering last year she didn't even get to celebrate her Birthday.

"I was not aware that it was your Birthday."

Misato sniggered at Reis response. Shinji felt his hand immediately go for Asukas as he saw her eyebrow twitch in anger. For a moment Shinji thought he saw something of a sly smile on Rei's face but upon blinking it was gone.

 _'Did I… did she? No, she can't have done!'_

Rei had been slightly different since she had been found in Tokyo 3 earlier that year. She was now slightly more talkative than she used to be. She seemed more curious about her humanity and exploring that. She had moved past believing she had one singular purpose. Asuka had likened it to an Android learning about emotions and while Shinji thought she had been a bit unfair he could see it.

Rei questioned a lot and wanted to understand purpose and she didn't hide away from asking awkward questions either. Many a time she had asked Asuka and Shinji a number of embarrassing questions about their relationship. While they had been happy to answer some questions there were various aspects they wanted to keep secret.

"Oh… and what event were you referring to?"

"Christmas. I have never celebrated this occasion before."

Shinji looked around the table and was met with a number of bowed heads. He too had never really celebrated the holiday. Christmas was something of a big deal in Japan but not as much as it was in a country like Germany. Last year, much like Asuka's Birthday it had gone forgotten about. He was curious about Asuka's bowed head though, she was raised in Germany so surely she would have celebrated it. He leaned over and whispered to her, "Asuka?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Awkward silence continued to fill the room, it probably didn't help that last year's Christmas almost signalled the end of the world for them.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Gendo shook his head, "No it isn't that, it's just… in Japan we didn't celebrate the holiday like other parts of the world do and… well I suppose none of us have ever really celebrated the occasion."

"I see, so this will be the first year for all of us."

Asuka nodded, "Yeah, it will be."

"I understand a tradition in this part of the world is for family members to gather together on the day for a dinner and the exchange of presents."

"Yeah that's correct, in this part of the world we have a lot of traditional markets were people sell food and homemade ornaments during the month. When I was younger my… father and stepmother would take me along to them."

Curious by Asuka's tone Rei raised her eyebrow, "Was this not agreeable to you?"

Shinji ran his fingers over Asuka's hand and was about to try to cut in but she turned to him, "It's alright Shinji."

Asuka didn't really feel this was the most appropriate place to open up about her past but Rei had asked the question and she felt she owed Rei something of an explanation. She could tell Shinji the real story later. Truth was Asuka had always hated the holiday in the past, always just wanted it to pass by. She had always told herself was a silly kids thing and something she shouldn't be concerned about. In reality she hated it because it was supposed to be a time families got together and that was something she never had.

 _'Until now I guess, as weird as this family is.'_

"I guess when I was younger I was never that interested in that aspect of it. I had other things on my mind but… I guess seeing as we're all here we should do something for it."

Misato raised her head, "Oh I know, we should all get together like Rei said on the day itself and I can cook dinner!"

"No!"

Misato almost fell back in her seat from the sudden yell. She wouldn't have felt so bad if it had just been Shinji and Asuka that yelled it at her but for some reason the addition of Rei and Gendo Ikari's voice made her feel all that much worse.

 _'I'm… not that bad am I?'_

"Fine… I guess someone else can do it."

"I'll do it! I don't mind."

"Yeah and I'll help! Of course we'll need to get a tree! A real tree, not one of those fake ones and loads of lights and decorations!"

Rei's eyes seemed to light up as Asuka's excitement, "I will accompany you… I would like to purchase decorations as well! If that is agreeable with you?"

She turned to Gendo waiting his response, "Of course Rei."

The mood in the room had changed all of a sudden from an awkward silence to actual excitement. They were all going to celebrate it together, no worries about an apocalypse, and no demons of the past to confront them. An actual celebration.

Gendo folded his hands in front of his face and nodded, "That settles it then, I presume you have enough space in your apartment Katsuragi for all of us?"

* * *

"You knowsh for someonesh who once… once tried end world… your fat…"

Shinji groaned as Misato placed her arm around him and leaned in, her breath stinking of alcohol.

"Hehe… I said your fat… thatsh not what I means… what means is your father aint too bad…"

Shinji shook her head, "No he isn't… Asuka can we get inside now?"

"Yeah yeah! I'm just trying to get the key out of Colonel Drunkard's handbag, ah found it!"

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief as the door slid open, he gently nudged Misato inside only to watch her fall forward and start giggling as she lay on the floor. Asuka shrugged, "I vote we leave her there for the night."

"We can't do that, she'll hurt her neck!"

"It's her own stupid fault, she shouldn't have had… whatever it was your father offered her. Besides a sore neck is going to be the least of her problems."

"Let's just get her into bed. Right Misato… Misato?"

All Shinji got as a reply was a snore.

It took longer than it should have done to drag the lifeless body of Misato Katsuragi into her bed room but once they had the door open they simply threw her on top of the bed, ensured there was no risk to her if she was ill and escaped the room.

"God she's heavy, it's like catching that Angel all over again! There were three of us that time as well."

Shinji laughed and stepped into the kitchen, "I'll make us some hot chocolate or something…"

"Sure, bring it into our room. I'm going to get ready for bed."

Shinji smiled as he started boiling the milk, aside from a few moments of awkwardness it had been a pleasant night. His father had been nice to him, asking questions and showing interest. Rei had been personable and thankfully Asuka and Misato had behaved themselves… well mostly. Now he just had to think about what'd happen a month from now. It'd be his first real Christmas, he'd have to get them all presents and he'd have to figure out what to buy for food and how to prepare it.

Asuka was going to handle the decorations, her shopping trip with Rei had been arranged. Misato was going to, no one actually knew what Misato was going to do but she would be there in some capacity. Shinji looked outside as the snow started to fall down on the streets. He could hear Asuka humming away to herself from their room. She was happy and so was he.

* * *

Asuka turned the necklace over in her hand admiring its beauty. It had a gold chain, with a locket attached. On the back her name had been inscribed along with the date ' _04-12-2016._ ' Inside was space for a picture, it had taken her less than five seconds to decide what would go in there. She'd take a picture of the two of them and that would be in there.

She gently placed it down on the bedside table and smiled, it had been the first Birthday she'd been able to enjoy. The first one where she could truly be happy. She looked across at the stack of presents given to her by her friends and family. Even Rei had given her something, a CD of one of the bands Asuka liked.

For a moment as she sat there she wondered if she really deserved all this kindness. She thought about all those Birthdays she had before this one, the way she had treated her family and friends at the time. There was her attitude when she moved to Tokyo-3 towards Shinji and Misato, towards the others in NERV and the people in school. She had pushed everyone away in an attempt to make herself seem like she had needed no one but herself. Yet for some reason they had stuck by her.

It wasn't even as if her personality had changed that much over the last year. She still wanted to be the best at things and she usually was, she still tried to assert her independence and she was still quick to let people know her disdain for them. Yet she wasn't as quick to push them away, she was able to recognise if she did something wrong.

Shinji must have noticed she was deep in thought when he returned to the room because he immediately sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Are you alright Asuka?"

His voice jolted her out of her thoughts and she immediately changed to a wide smile, "Hah, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason, you just looked a bit..."

He paused thinking that it was probably best to not go down that route, "...doesn't matter."

"Idiot, you know what was wrong."

"Thinking?"

She nodded, "Yup..."

"Don't you always tell me that can get us into trouble?"

She picked up a pillow and hit him in the back with it playfully, "Idiot."

"You want to talk about it?"

She hit him with the pillow again, this time letting it hit him square on the top of the head. She released it and left it there balancing on his head.

"As always, nope."

He removed the pillow and threw it at her trying to catch her by surprise. With lightning fast reflexes she snatched it out of the air before placing it on his head again.

"Going to have to do better than that Shinji, remember who you're up against."

Leaning his head forward the pillow slid off his head straight into his hands.

"I suppose."

He turned his head slightly only to see her raise her eyebrows, "It's not going to work Shinji. You've already given yourself awa-"

Without any warning Shinji dropped the pillow and dived at her pushing her down onto the bed playfully. He shifted his wait onto her keeping her in place as she squirmed to try to get free. He looked at her as she lay there, staring deep into her eyes before kissing her softly on the neck and whispering in her ear.

"I love you."

"Damn you..."

She looked away from him averting her eyes and waited for him to lean in closer. She tried to keep her expression as angry as she could.

"Asuka I'm sor-"

This was her chance, she pushed up and flipped him over onto his back and mounted him. A grin spread across her face as she grabbed both his wrists and kept him pinned down to the bed.

"You know what your problem is Shinji, you're too sentimental. That's why you're unable to beat me."

"Hmph"

"Oh and..."

She leaned in until her face was barely inches from his, she let go of his wrists and felt his hands wrap around her body as she brought one of her own hands in to slide gently across his face. She smiled as he leaned his head up and her head went down to meet his. In the middle their lips met and they shared a kiss.

"I love you too."


	2. Chapter 2

Shinji had been staring at the clothes for a good fifteen minutes now going from jacket to jacket trying to figure out which one would be perfect for Asuka. He moved from one to one looking at how they fastened, the arrangement of the buttons, length and overall style of the jacket. He looked at which ones had little splashes of colour on them trying to picture how she would look in each one. He was beginning to wish he had taken Misato up on her offer of accompanying him. If only he had waited a couple more days but he wanted to get her this now.

He knew what she would have liked to a degree. She had expressed interest in them a couple of weeks ago when they had been out with their friends. She had pointed out a few, each of them coming down to around her thigh. Shinji had meant to make a note of them and take a photo of them with his phone but he had completely forgotten, now he had to rely on his memory.

He picked up another one and held it up in front of him and compared it to the other one he had in his hand. He looked between the two jackets completely unaware of the two boys creeping up behind him.

"Watchya doing Shinji?"

Shinji couldn't help it, he jumped by the sudden exclamation and spun around to see both Touji and Kensuke grinning at him. He put one of the jackets back on the rack and sighed.

"Trying to pick out a Christmas present for Asuka…"

"Huh? Hasn't it just been her Birthday?"

Shinji stared at his friend Touji blankly as did Kensuke who merely groaned, "And they say romance is dead."

"Hey I'm just saying, she's just had a load of presents and it's not like we celebrate Christmas that much in our culture anyway!"

Kensuke nodded, "True, although I didn't see you complaining last year when Hikari bought you all that stuff. Nor did I see you complaining about the food but of course, maybe we should inform Hikari about your sudden respect for traditional Japanese culture."

"You… that isn't what I meant… how can we help Shinji?"

Shinji wasn't sure they could help, they were his best friends but he didn't really have faith that they'd be able to help in this situation. He turned around to see Kensuke handing him a jacket, "Here it was this one she wanted."

"H-How did you know?"

Shinji took the jacket off of him and looked it over, it was perfect and now that he thought about it, this was the exact one she had looked at the other week. Shinji was stunned, Kensuke had managed to pick it out in seconds. Shinji hadn't seen it in an entire fifteen minutes of looking.

With a triumphant look Kensuke merely replied, "Observation. You see I, unlike you two actually take notice of what people do for that one moment when I might be able to save your lives."

Touji grinned, "I knew I kept you around for some reason, so dya reckon you can help me pick out presents for Hikari then? And I'm sure Shinji is going to need more help with his…"

"Actually this was the last thing I needed to get for Asuka. I've already gotten everything else."

"What really? But it's barely the second week of December! How come you're nearly done so early?"

Shinji shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno, I guess I just wanted to have everything ready sooner rather than later. Besides I've had to plan the dinner as well."

"You're cooking the dinner too? Man have those two got you whipped."

Shinji and Kensuke groaned at Touji's statement. Touji occasionally had views that might have seemed a little bit old fashioned. Kensuke could be no better at times but he had grown up somewhat over the last year.

"Sometimes I wonder what Hikari sees in you, Shinji cooks because he wants to."

"Yeah, I enjoy it. Besides I wouldn't trust those two with it, they'd probably burn the apartment down or kill each other… or both."

* * *

Rei Ayanami had made a list, and she had checked it twice. This list was a sequence of names and next to each name was another list which she had also checked twice. This sub-list were the presents that each person would be getting. Satisfied that her lists were accurate she walked into the shopping mall. Rei had been very meticulous in her approach to deciding what presents to get each person on her list. She had broken each person down into what behaviours she had observed and based on this she had devised a potential list of presents categorized by the various ways in which they might appeal to a person. This could include their sentimental appeal, functional appeal or visual appeal to name a few.

As an example she had observed that Gendo Ikari was a man who seemed to favour that which was functional in his life. He was also a man of science so something intellectual might appeal to him. Rei had also however observed that appearance seemed important to him. He always seemed to have a neatly trimmed beard, his hair was always pristine and the clothes he wore always made him look presentable. Therefore Rei had decided on a new razor for him, a new watch and some high end shirts.

For Shinji she had observed that he appeared to be someone who placed a lot of sentiment in his choices. As an example he had always been attached to his SDAT player before he had lost it. She had noticed he hadn't replaced it but one speaking to him on one occasion he had expressed a desire to get a new music player sometime. She had therefore picked out a new top of the range music player for the person she now called her brother. Along with this she had selected a new pair of boots for him to replace the ones he had worn for some time.

Asuka had required a bit of work to narrow down the list of potential presents. Asuka was more outspoken about her likes and dislikes in comparison to Shinji and Gendo. That made making a list of candidates easy but figuring out the ideal presents more difficult. Rei had wanted to avoid getting her items based purely on visual appeal and wanted to get something with some sort of meaning. It was only when discussing music with Shinji that the idea had dawned on her. Asuka had started to learn to play the guitar this year. She would get presents for Asuka themed around that, a guitar strap personalized with Asuka's name, an effects pedal to allow her to capture the sound of her favourite bands and new picks with her initials on.

Rei had also worked on something special for the two of them together. She only hoped it would be ready in time.

Misato Katsuragi had been the last person on her list. The former Major had proven difficult to select presents for. Rei had not spent a lot of time around Misato in order to observe her habits, nor had she been able to get any useful information out of Asuka and Shinji. She had had to turn to Gendo for advice. He had suggested that given Katsuragi's fondness and tolerance for alcohol a good whiskey might be suitable. So she had that down as one present and Gendo would have to purchase that for her. Then she remembered something, a fragment of a memory from a past life. From when Misato had taken all three of them out for dinner. Misato had worn a particular perfume. Rei wasn't sure why she knew this but she knew that particular one was important to her. Rei had done some research and was able to trust her memory enough to figure out which one was the exact one.

That would wrap up her gift buying. Rei gave the smallest hint of a smile as she stepped into the first store ready to get what she needed.

* * *

Asuka was exhausted from wrapping presents, she looked at the neat pile on the floor next to her and flopped backwards. It had been tough with some of them, especially the items of clothing but it'd be worth it. She'd picked well, of course she had, she was Asuka Langley Sohryu there was no point in doing something if it wasn't going to be done well. She knew she had done well, that she had picked the best presents for everyone.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear a voice nagging her, telling her that it wasn't a competition. That it wasn't about who gave the 'best' presents but about the spirit of the day. She told that voice to shut up and to not bother her with such meaningless talk again. The voice agreed and wished her well.

 _'Hah, Shinji is going to love all of this, maybe I'll even make him cry. It's all so perfect!'_

She looked over the separated piles again. On the left were the items she was getting for Shinji all neatly stacked, on the right were the few presents she had gotten for Misato, next to that was another pile for their friends and finally there were presents for her father and stepmother.

Each present was expertly wrapped with a delicate bow and label on each one made out to the person it was for. The only things missing were presents for Rei and Shinji's father. That was only because Asuka and Shinji had agreed to get presents for those two from the two of them. Of course Asuka had already decided what Rei would be getting. Shinji had agreed, they just needed to go out and collect it. His father was another matter.

 _'What do you get the man who tried to end the world to reunite with his wife? Probably a giant Toblerone.'_

She made a mental note to make sure they got a giant Toblerone and went back to looking over the stack of presents. For Shinji she had gotten him a few practical items, a new kit for taking care of his Cello and some music books. There was a video game in there that he had expressed an interest in, a few cooking book, aftershave, clothes and then to round it off there was his surprise present. She was actually a little bit apprehensive about it when she thought about it. She was sure he would like it but a voice had crept into her head saying to her.

 _'What if he doesn't?'_

Much like the previous voice she told it to shut up and not bother her with such meaningless talk. He was going to love it.

 **Six O Clock on a Christmas Morning**

Shinji flushed the toilet and washed his hands, he looked himself in the mirror and smiled. He had been really excited all of yesterday, so much so that he had found it difficult to sleep. It had been the same for Asuka, even their regular bed time routine had done little to tire them out. Only after the second time did they start to flag a little bit. Eventually however sleep did come and it had last until now. Shinji had rolled over feeling the need to use the bathroom and on looking at his alarm it was still only six in the morning.

 _'When is acceptable to wake up on a Christmas morning?'_

It was one of the mysteries of life, when was an appropriate time to wake up. They had all agreed that they would wait until all people were together to even think about opening presents but Shinji didn't want to wake up after the others and he certainly didn't want to wake up before the others and be on his own for an extended period of time.

As he made his way through the front room he got even more excited. He had seen Christmass's come and go in the past but never really celebrated it like this before. Their apartment had been fully decorated, it was beautiful to look in the corner and see the neatly decorated tree with its star on top, the baubles handing off of its branches, the glimmering tinsel wrapped around it. During the evening it looked even better as all the lights were on, twinkling in random patterns. Of course under the tree were the various stacks of presents and standing next to the tree with his back to Shinji was a somewhat plump man in a red suit, Shinji was sure he could make out a huge white beard and a large sack next to him.

Shinji smiled and continued back to the room, it was only when he reached the room he realized what was odd about his observation. He turned around and did the only thing he could.

* * *

Asuka was dreaming, it was a pleasant dream reliving one of her happier memories from her Eva piloting days. It was actually from the first day she met Shinji, they were both in her Eva with Shinji clad in her red form fitting plugsuit. It was an odd memory for her to relive, but it was a good one the day she beat an Angel for the first time, got to show how good she was as a pilot and met the person she would fall in love with.

That day, for as strange as it was, was a good one and that was why she found the sound of Shinji screaming so weird. As she stirred, her mind still half dreaming she mumbled to herself.

"No, Shinji didn't scream… that was another time, stupid dream."

Then she heard a thud against the door which jolted her to attention. She realized that the scream was not part of a dream. She looked to her left, Shinji was no longer in bed with her. She looked around the room and he was not in the room either. The scream had to come from outside, the thud… that had to have been him.

 _'No, not today of all days. Hold on Shinji, I'm coming!"_

Asuka threw the covers aside and darted towards the door sliding it up, she launched into the front room, her eyes widened in surprise and terror at the scene in front of her. She spotted Shinji immediately, he was stood still his mouth opening and closing. Stood opposite Shinji was a plump man in a red suit, a beard hung from his face and his eyes were hidden behind glasses.

Asuka could hardly believe it and wondered if she was still dreaming. She stood there speechless for a moment her mouth hanging open and she felt her hand move to her arm. She pinched herself just to make sure she wasn't still dreaming. Once she was certain she mumbled the only word she could think of at the time.

"Santa?"

Asuka's eyes finally adjusted to the light, she looked again. It couldn't have been Santa, for one he wasn't real and for two… she scratched a second reason out of her head just having the first reason was enough. No this was something else and as she focused she realized with terror what she was seeing. On getting a good look at the man as he turned around she realized he wasn't quite as plump as first though. The white beard only covered a part of his face the glasses weren't small round cute spectacles like those worn by Father Christmas. There were rectangular frames and they were reflective hiding the eyes of the man wearing them. This was something much scarier.

She turned to the left to see someone else emerging from the kitchen. A smaller person with pointed ears, green hat and green overalls. Under the hat and in the dim light Asuka could make out the distinctive blue hair.

The light in the front room suddenly went on illuminating the entire scene. Misato Katsuragi was stood looking out of her door a confused expression on her face.

"What… am I still drunk?"

Asuka looked at Katsuragi, she looked at Rei and then she looked at Shinji. Finally her eyes came to rest on Father Christmas or as was now fully revealed by the light, Father Ikari.

"No… but I wish I was."

Gendo looked across at them both and straightened himself up. He raised a hand to adjust his glasses. It was strange but even dressed as Santa he still managed to look imposing. There was the small hint of a smile on his face.

"It would appear that the scenario myself and Rei had planned did not go as we had desired."

Rei stepped into the room, "No, we did not factor in Shinjis bladder capacity."

"F-Father?"

Shinji was still in complete shock. He couldn't think of anything to say, this scene are so bizarre to him. It was even more of a shock than the first time he saw the Evangelion. Never in a million years did he think he would see his father dressed as Santa Claus or Rei Ayanami dressed as an Elf. It was not exactly the tradition look for Santa and one of his little helpers but then again nothing in Shinji's life could ever be described as traditional.

There was a thud as Misato went back into her room. It was too early for this, she would let them all sort it out amongst themselves.

Asuka continued to glance between both Ayanami and Gendo her mouth opening and closing in surprise. For once she had nothing to say, it was one of only a few times she had been rendered completely speechless.

Finally the silence was broken by Gendo, "Allow us to explain…"

Rei continued, "You may wish you put some clothes on."

Asuka looked down and realized she was still wearing just a nightshirt and a small pair of panties. She turned around to look at Shinji who was stood in just a pyjama top and boxers. Both of them looked each other up and down blushing heavily as they realized their current state of undress. They quickly darted back into the bedroom.

Rei looked up at Gendo, a little bell around her neck jangling as she did so, "Was this factored into the scenario?"

He shook his head and smiled, "No, but planning always requires you to factor in a certain amount of improvisation."

* * *

An hour had passed since the incident which Misato had comically dubbed the 'Christmas Complementation Project.' It was much earlier than she had intended to wake up but from the number of lights on across the city no earlier than anyone else. All five of them were now settled, Misato sat around the coffee table. Gendo and Rei taking up one sofa, Asuka and Shinji on another and in a much better state of dress than previously.

Gendo had removed the fake white beard but had kept on the rest of his Santa costume whilst Rei seemed content to remain dressed as an elf all day. Misato sipped from the tea Shinji had made. She had heard Gendo's story about what had happened. He had intended to sneak into the apartment, leave the presents and sneak out with no one figuring out they were there. When asked if he hadn't intended to be seen why bother with the costumes to which she received a cryptic 'It was all part of the scenario.' She decided to not press him on that point.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Asuka steadily creeping closer and closer towards the pile of presents. She grabbed one of the small sweets from a nearby tin and threw it directly at the young girl hitting her directly in the forehead.

"Ow!"

She glared at Misato. Misato had decided that it was not yet an appropriate time to open presents and that the appropriate time would be after they had all sat down and had tea and a chance to wake up. Asuka did not agree.

"Oh come on! Everyone is here, let's just get them open!"

"Not yet Asuka!"

"Bleh!"

Asuka sipped at the still hot tea, she wasn't going to wait for it to cool down. She had presents to open, she wanted to know what she had got. She turned to Shinji who also seemed to be pre-occupied with the stacks of presents. Either that or he was trying to avoid looking at his father. This morning was a firm reminder that nothing she or Shinji were involved in was ever normal.

"So Rei are you excited, this will be your first proper Christmas won't it?"

Rei thought about the question for a moment. On a technical level Misato was correct, this would be Rei's first ever Christmas, at least the first for this particular Rei. The Rei that came before had experienced one Christmas, although that might not count due to the ongoing war against the Angels. The Rei before hand had witnessed the holiday but had never celebrated it. She wondered then what constituted a proper Christmas. Did witnessing the holiday and not celebrating it make it proper or not? Did it count that she was within a different body at that time and therefore this Rei was different from those others?

As for being excited? She felt a few emotions, she was indeed intrigued at what others might have purchased for her. She also felt a different feeling, one she had only felt during activation tests. The sense of nervousness. This came with wondering if others would enjoy the gifts she had purchased for them. She was questioning whether her methodological approach to gift buying was the correct one. Others she had observed seemed more emotion or impulse driven.

She realized after a moment after seeing the impatient glare from Asuka that she might have been taking too long to answer the question.

"Yes this will be my first proper opportunity to celebrate this particular occaision. I am anticipating how the events of the day will play out and I look forward to partaking in it."

"I see..."

"Well then it's settled, if Rei is excited then it must be time to open presents. What do you think Shinji?"

Asuka turned to Shinji expecting him to back her up, expecting him to be just as excited as she was and expecting him to want to tear open those wrapped packages just as much as she did. Naturally she was disappointed.

"Huh? Oh I don't mind waiting, if that's what Misato wants..."

Asuka slumped back in her seat and shot him a glare that could kill. He realized that he had probably said the wrong thing in this situation. Immediately he took his words back.

"I mean, yeah I think now might be a good time!"

Misato laughed at the sudden change in tone and winked at Shinji, "Sorry Shinji, we have to take your first answer. See Asuka you just have wait. It won't be much longer!"

All Asuka could do was continue to stare a hole through Shinji, "Traitor."

* * *

Rei, Asuka and Shinji were sat alone in the apartment. Misato and Gendo having left moments before to visit the staff Christmas party at WILLE. Tucked away in the corner were a small number of unopened presents. Special presents saved for last.

The day had been wonderful, far surpassing that which any of them had desired. The dinner, a large roast turkey, complete with three types of vegetable, a white-wine gravy, sausage-meat stuffing, roast potatoes and optional cranberry sauce was amazing. Misato had remarked numerous times how Shinji had outdone himself with it. Before being harshly reminded that the vegetables she was shoving into her mouth had been prepared by Asuka, as had the gravy and getting gravy to that level of perfection was a tough job.

Everyone had loved their presents as well. Asuka couldn't wait to show off the new jacket Shinji had bought her, and she loved all of the personalised gifts Rei had gotten her. Asuka had to concede that Rei had a talent for buying gifts.

Shinji had never stopped smiling at what he had received. He had been poring over the music books all day making notes of what to try to play when he had the opportunity.

Rei had been stunned into silence at her presents. It was a strange moment as they observed the girl seemingly on the verge of tears at such kindness. Even more so when she threw a hug around both Asuka and Shinji thanking them immensely for everything.

Asuka was even surprised to learn that Gendo did indeed like Toblerone. Everyone was happy.

Both Asuka and Shinji shared a smile knowing that not everything was over yet. Asuka doubly so because she still had one more present to give Shinji. She was blissfully unaware that Shinji had been planning the exact same thing.

Rei on the other hand had been plotting this moment for some time. She suddenly stood up and stepped over to one of the unwrapped presents.

"Sohryu, Ikari… I wanted to wait until an appropriate moment to give you this."

Shinji took the rather large rectangular package off of Rei.

"Damnit wondergirl, how many times do I have to tell you to call us Asuka and Shinji? You don't need to be so formal all the time! Anyway… what is it?"

"I don't know!"

"Well open it idiot!"

Asuka grabbed at the other side of the package and begin eagerly unwrapping it as Shinji did the same. Both of their jaws dropped at what was inside. They brushed aside the paper revealing the framed picture, it was a hand drawn picture of the two of them. Sat up on a hilltop, both with their arms around one another. They both looked at Rei unsure what to say. They knew Rei had become something of a talented artist since returning, that was why their gift to her was a large variety of art supplies but this was beyond what they expected.

"Rei you…"

She nodded, "I had some assistance from Aida, I had him take pictures of you both that I could use for reference."

Asuka's smile dropped as anger took over. The very idea that someone had been doing that without her knowledge even if it was for this, "Kensuke has been taking pictures of us secretly? That creep!"

Shinji quickly went to calm her, "It's not like that, Rei this is… this is amazing."

Asuka let herself calm down, "Yeah… it really is amazing wonde- Rei, although next time maybe you could have just asked for pictures of us."

"Then you would have suspected something. I did not want to ruin any possible surprise."

Shinji raised his eyebrow, it was possible that Rei had perhaps picked up a bit too much of his father's behaviour. Although he had to admit she was right. The two of them looked at the picture for a moment, just as Rei's mobile phone started to go off. The blue haired girl excused herself and went into one of the other rooms leaving them both alone.

They carefully placed the picture down on the couch next to them as both Shinji and Asuka reached to get the other two remaining packages, in perfect synchronisation they spoke.

"I got one more thing for you too…"

They exchanged the very similar looking packages and carefully unwrapped them. Under the paper was a black hardback book. A single card was on the front of each one indicating the owner. The two of them shot each other a curious glance.

"You first Shinji."

He nodded, opening up the page and being greeted straight away by a picture of his mother. Immediately he felt his eyes grow watery at the sight of her.

"A-Asuka… you..."

He looked up to see she had already opened her book and was experiencing a similar thing. He watched her hand go up to her eye brushing away a tear. All she could do was mumble.

"Idiot…"

Shinji continued to look through the booklet wondering where Asuka had managed to get all of this from. His father had told him once that he had no pictures left of his mother. Although when he thought about it that hadn't been true, there had been on picture left that his father had given to Asuka on the night he left the Sindram.

Asuka on the other hand still hadn't moved past the first page of her album. Just the image of her mother holding a three year old version of Asuka was enough to stop her. She didn't want to go any further, she knew she'd only cry if she did. She couldn't let Shinji see her cry or at least not yet. Instead she watched Shinji looked through the album.

She couldn't believe they had both had the same idea. At the same time though it made sense, that was always a constant in both of their lives and it was one of the things both of them missed the most. This was their first Christmas together and it was the first real one both had celebrated in their lives. It was supposed to be a time for families, so why shouldn't both of them had tried to evoke the spirit of the one family member each missed do dearly.

Shinji continued

"Asuka… how did you…"

She smiled, "I'll have you know it wasn't easy, in fact it was nearly impossible at times. I had to visit your father and get whatever I could from him. I had to talk to my father because I knew my mother knew yours. I had to e-mail the university your mother studied at to get all of this, I got in touch with old friends and even family members you probably don't know about but as always I came through."

"It's… incredible Asuka, I… I've always wondered about her, what she was like what she looked like. All I've ever had is hazy memories, that one picture and what I saw during my time with Eva but… it never felt complete… and this… this…"

He brought a hand up to his eye to try to wipe away the tears but he couldn't, they were already flowing. He sniffed loudly as Asuka brought herself closer to him and held him tight towards her.

"Get any tearstains on this new jacket and I'll kill you…"

She felt him laugh at the joke, "It… she feels like a real person now Asuka… I don't know how to thank you."

Asuka turned her head at her own booklet, still open on the first picture of Kyoko and the young Asuka. Asuka let a tear fall down her face thankful that Shinji couldn't see it and she just whispered to him.

"You already have."

"Merry Christmas Asuka."

"Merry Christmas Shinji."


End file.
